Early Origins of the Oldcraft family

The surname Oldcraft was first found in Lancashire where one of the first record of the name was Robert de Holecroft who was listed in the Assize Rolls in 1246. A few years later, John Holecroft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

"Lytham [a parish in Lancashire] is mentioned in the Domesday Survey under the name of Lidun. It early belonged, by gift of Richard Fitz-Roger, to the monks of Durham, and after the Reformation was granted to Sir Thomas Holcroft, whose descendant, Sir John, is said to have sold the property in 1606 to Sir Cuthbert Clifton, ancestor of the present lord of the manor." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.

Early History of the Oldcraft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oldcraft research.Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1629, 1693, 1656, 1640, 1648, 1745 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Oldcraft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oldcraft Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Oldcraft family name include Holcroft, Holcrofte, Howcroft, Hocroft and others.

Early Notables of the Oldcraft family (pre 1700)

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henry Holcroft, from West Ham in Essex; his son, Francis Holcroft (c.1629-1693), an English ejected minister; John Holcroft (died 1656), an English politician... Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Oldcraft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Oldcraft family to the New World and Oceana

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Oldcraft surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Thomas Hocroft, who sailed to Virginia in 1684; William Holcroft settled in Philadelphia in 1828; Thomas Holcroft settled in Philadelphia in 1835; J. Holcroft arrived in San Francisco in 1850..